State targets Internet cafes as law takes effect

Thursday

Oct 3, 2013 at 12:01 AMOct 4, 2013 at 9:37 AM

The failure of the Internet-sweepstakes referendum yesterday means state and local law officials will begin enforcing a law today that could put the cafes out of business in Ohio. Less than an hour after the Committee to Protect Ohio Jobs announced yesterday that it was abandoning its campaign to gather signatures to put the Internet cafe law on the November 2014 ballot as a referendum, Attorney General Mike DeWine issued a statement saying enforcement efforts will begin immediately.

Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch

The failure of the Internet-sweepstakes referendum yesterday means state and local law officials will begin enforcing a law today that could put the cafes out of business in Ohio.

Less than an hour after the Committee to Protect Ohio Jobs announced yesterday that it was abandoning its campaign to gather signatures to put the Internet cafe law on the November 2014 ballot as a referendum, Attorney General Mike DeWine issued a statement saying enforcement efforts will begin immediately.

"Internet-sweepstakes cafes have long had operations that raised suspicions of illegal gambling," DeWine said. "Ohio now has a law which makes clear which activities are legal and illegal in these cafes, and we will not hesitate to enforce the law."

He said he will be sending letters to 88 county sheriffs and all of the several hundred Internet-cafe owners in the state notifying them of the requirements of the law.

"We will be watching," DeWine added.

Robert Cornwell, executive director of the Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association, said sheriffs will work closely with DeWine's office to enforce the new law.

"I don't think they're going to be a problem," Cornwell said of the cafe operators. "I think they will fold up their operations and move to other states that don't have such tough regulations. That's what they've done before."

The new law took effect at 12:01 a.m. today. It was originally scheduled to take effect on Sept. 5, but under Ohio law was put on hold by the effort to allow opponents to gather sufficient signatures on a referendum petition. If the petition effort had been successful, the law would have been delayed until after the November 2014 vote.

The new law does not outright ban the cafes, which feature casino-style games played on devices connected to the Internet, but it undoubtedly will make it difficult for them to remain in business. It includes a $10 limit on the value of prizes, and bans awarding prizes in cash, gift cards, lottery tickets, alcohol, tobacco, firearms and vouchers. It also requires cafes to obtain a certificate of registration from the attorney general, and to file monthly reports. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation has authority to investigate alleged gambling-law violations at cafes.

The Committee to Protect Ohio Jobs said in a statement: "Sadly, as a result of House Bill 7 going into effect, Ohio will lose thousands of jobs, and state and local governments will lose millions of dollars in tax revenues."

After falling 71,140 signatures short of the required 231,148 it needed to qualify for the ballot, the committee worked feverishly to gather signatures in the extra 10-day period it was allowed under state law. Dozens of additional collectors were hired to assist Professional Petition Management, a Columbus company that handled signature collection.

However, the group fell short of the total number of signatures needed, and of a second ballot requirement that a minimum number of signatures be collected in at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties; the committee had met the threshold in just 12 counties initially.

Carlo LoParo, spokesman for the casino-backed group Ohioans Against Illegal Gambling, which opposed the referendum, said in a statement that the "push by cafe owners to halt this important law came up short because Ohioans refused to aid and abet a known criminal enterprise."

ajohnson@dispatch.com

@ohioaj

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